Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief PGen. Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar on May 26 invoked his subpoena power in running after perpetrators responsible for the alleged sale of COVID-19 vaccines and vaccination slots.
“In order to further ferret out the truth of this controversy, I am invoking the power given to me by the law as the Chief PNP to issue subpoena against the persons involved in the alleged sale of COVID vaccines and vaccine slots,” said PGen. Eleazar.
“Hindi katanggap-tanggap ang ganitong uri ng gawain, totoo man o hindi, and I will do everything in my power as your Chief PNP upang mabigyan ng linaw ang isyung ito,” he added.
Pursuant to Republic Act 10973, the PNP Chief and the Director and Deputy Director for administration of the PNP’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) are given the authority to issue subpoenas in relation to the conduct of investigations, especially on high-profile crimes.
RA 10973 provides that the Chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Director and the Deputy Director for Administration of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), referred to as the Criminal Investigation Unit in Section 35(b)(4) of this Act, shall have the power to administer oath, and issue subpoena and subpoena duces tecum in relation to its investigation.
According to RA 10973, the subpoena shall state the nature and purpose of investigation, [and] shall be directed to the person whose attendance is required, and in the case of a subpoena duces tecum, it shall also contain a reasonable description of the books, documents, or things demanded which must be relevant to the investigation.
The law provides that failure to comply with subpoena and subpoena duces tecum shall authorize the filing of a case for indirect contempt under the Rules of Court with the Regional Trial Court.
Eleazar earlier also tasked the CIDG and the Anti-Cybercrime Group to investigate the allegations of sale of vaccines and vaccination slots which became viral in social media.
The police investigators have already identified at least one person who directly offered a vaccine and a vaccine slot to a high school friend through a social media messaging app.
However, the suspect reportedly went into hiding along with deactivating all his social media accounts.
“At least isang tao na ang kilala na ng PNP na sangkot dito kaya ang tamang gawin niya ay pumunta sa aking opisina upang magbigay linaw sa isyung ito. Huwag ka nang makipaglaro ng taguan sa ating mga kapulisan,” said Eleazar.
Meanwhile, Eleazar expressed support for Malacañang’s call for local government units (LGUs) to pass penal ordinances which would prohibit the sale of vaccination slots allotted for their constituents.
“An ordinance that would explicitly state that COVID-19 vaccination slots are non-transferrable would be a very helpful measure to deter persons from selling or at least being tempted to sell these slots. The ordinance can also clearly define penalties for persons who still attempt to do so as well as LGU employees who might abet them,” the Chief said.
Eleazar pointed out that we have national statutes penalizing the sale of unregistered medicine, including COVID-19 vaccines, as well as for swindling.
The PNP Chief cited the FDA Act of 2009, the Revised Penal Code, and the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.
“Maaari masampahan ng kasong paglabag sa Republic Act 11332 ang magbebenta ng slots pero kung magkakaroon ng ordinansa ay mas magiging specific ang offense at ang kaparusahan para dito. Kaya hindi basta-basta makalulusot ang ganitong klaseng iligal na gawain,” Eleazar said. (PNP-PIO) – rir
